1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a distributing transportation device feeding out work flowing from a single line into a plurality of lines.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in the manufacturing process of a 3.5 inch (90 mm) floppy disc cartridge, for example, half shells (half of casing with a liner) fed through a single upstream side transporting path into a plurality of downstream side transporting paths are distributed by a distributing transporting system, during a transportation thereof.
Such distributing transportation systems are provided at predetermined intervals along a chain travel path between a pair of left and right chains traveling in synchronism with each other. Each distributing transportation system includes a plurality of carrier bars extending substantially perpendicular to the chain travel direction and supported on the chains, and on each two carrier bars, one carrier plate is mounted so as to be freely slidable in the axial direction of the carrier bars. A guide pin is extended downwardly from the carrier plate. The guide pin cooperates with a distributing guide rail for guiding the guide pins for distribution.
Accordingly, when the guide pin of the carrier plate is guided to the distributing guide rail arranged at an oblique angle to the chain travel direction, the carrier plate is shifted in the axial direction of the carrier bars, and thus is shifted in the direction perpendicular to the travel direction of the chain during travel in the chain travel direction together with the carrier bars. Namely, the carrier plate travels at an oblique angle. Therefore, the work transported through the upstream side transporting path can be mounted over a plurality of carrier plates to be transported at an oblique angle, and thus be distributed into the left and right lines.
In such a conventional distributing transportation device, however, since the carrier plates guided by the distributing guide rail are transversely shifted on a one-by-one basis, when the work is mounted over a plurality of carrier plates, the positioning of the work can become an oblique angle due to a relative displacement between the carrier plates, and this oblique angular positioning of the work may become a cause of jamming, etc., when transferred to the downstream side transporting path.
It should be noted that such a problem would not arise if the work could be mounted on a single carrier plate, but the size of the carrier plate is limited, to allow a smooth reversal at the turning ends in the chain travel direction.